Side-loading waste collection vehicles, for curbside pickup of household waste or the like, are well known in the art. Generally, such vehicles have a housing including a hopper into which waste is deposited through a side opening. The waste can be transferred to a hold within the housing for temporary storage. Compaction is typically provided, either within the hold, or as part of the transfer process, so as to increase the capacity of the hold. Once the hold has reached its capacity, the waste can be ejected from the hold by tilting the housing upwards or by an ejecting blade or similar mechanism.
Prior art transfer/compaction mechanisms in vehicles of this type often suffer from mechanical complexity, relatively high weight or relatively large bulk. Mechanical complexity is disadvantageous, as it makes these mechanisms prone to failure, expensive to maintain and/or slow in operation. High weight is disadvantageous, as it reduces the payload that could otherwise be accommodated by the vehicle and thereby increases operating costs. Bulkiness reduces the volume that could otherwise be made available within the hold and thereby increases operating costs.